Home prices in Stapleton continue to soar, making it difficult for new buyers to come in to the Stapleton market. Homes purchased for under $500,000 ten years ago are now selling for over $700,000. For most of these homeowners, that extra equity doesn’t do them any good. “If we sell our house, where are we going to move?” asked long-time Stapleton homeowner Keith Wallace. “We love living in Stapleton and in Denver, and if we sold our house, we would have to pay more to buy. We don’t want to move to Highlands Ranch or Brighton.” Other residents have the same thoughts. “I guess it’s fun to talk about,” said Lauren Davis. “But, it doesn’t do us any good. Maybe we pay more property taxes, but that’s about it.” Resident Nick White became frustrated by having all of that useless equity, and decided to do something about it. “We already have a finished basement, and didn’t have anything else outside we were hoping to do,” said White. “So, we wanted to make a financial investment that may be a little risky, but could pay off. Ultimately, we decided to purchase a lot of land in western Nebraska. Essentially, about one-quarter of the state.” White says he and has family have no plans to ever live in Nebraska, but the investment could possibly pay off. “With the United States pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, who knows, weather could change in the next ten years, and that portion of the country could be appealing. Plus, some people do like living in Nebraska, like other Nebraskans, so I can lease land to Nebraskans who continue to want to live there just so they can easily get to Lincoln to watch their irrelevant football team.” White says Nebraska wasn’t the only place he considered purchasing land. “We looked at Kansas and Oklahoma, two of the other bottom five states, but ultimately settled on Nebraska. Nebraskans continue to want to live in Nebraska, so I figured I would have more potential buyers.” White’s total investment was just over $300,000, and he believes he can conservatively expect a 15% return in ten years. “In the end, my money will be doing something, instead of just sitting there,” said White. “Sure, it is sitting in Nebraska, but at least it will be doing something for me.”